My Dead hit 405 in roughtly 7 or 8 months. The road to 315 on squat was only 3 weeks behind my road to 315 on dead I believe. I've stalled huge on squat, probably because I didn't do it much from Jan to now. So I'm hoping to get to 405 before December, which would be 16 months.

For Deads, I fully expect the road to 495 from 405 to be a lot longer than 315 to 405, but who knows.

It's my goal in life to only work with 45 & 25 lbs plates in those two lifts. Is this a dumb approach? probably, but I enjoy it for now.

Your questions about the spacing of the excersizes are part of why I didn't go back to a push pull after tax season.

Also...is it ok to do squats and DL's on consecutive days?

I've done it, and ran myself into the ground. I got stronger, but without a day between the two I felt like one lift suffered for the other. Whether it be I was saving myself for tomorrow, or was too wasted today because I went balls out yesterday. Plus I'm more of a "PC squatter" or whatever, so it ends up being rough on my behind and lower back. I don't get an incrediable amount of quad work from squats. But some people do.

What is the overall opinion of this workout?

I got stronger, but am still a noob, so take from that what you will.

I didn't like it enough to go back, and I'm leaning more towards teh hypertrophy dark side right now. (Once I hit 220lbs I'm thinking about leaning back to strengh type training, but I don't know yet.) So I'm actually starting to consider a *gasp* body part split. But I dont' feel strong enough yet, and the fear of trashing my shoulder lingers on.

and would like to incorporate some deadlifts

I think this is a great idea. I'm so happy I tried them one day. I just feel like they are a very productive use of your time, and a pure out-of-the-park homerun when it comes to the 80-20 rule. And yes, IMHO they should be the first thing you do on that day. (80-20 rule)

Sorry I dont' have anything other than noob personal experience, but I figured my .02 can't hurt.

jps wrote:
I guess I could do the above workout in an AXBX schedule. That would solve the squat/deadlift question. I have the ABX frequency stuck in my head for some reason....

Yeah, that was part of my issue too. I have to take a few more classes to get my CPA, so some nights I can lift and some I can't. Plus if my wife needs me to not leave after work for whatever reason... I needed the flexablity to go ABX or ABCX or ABAX or AXBCX etc...

I'm doing more of a push/pull/legs type thing these days. Like today is Pull/back day, and I may or may not DL because my legs are still pretty beat up from Monday, but I still have all my pulling I can do, just not form the floor, and with legs between, I could push if I'm forced too.

I never really followed a program someone else wrote. I kind of do what feels right, and what I feel like I need work on. Is this smart? Who knows, but I'm making progress.

I guess my point is the routine isn't as important as the effort. That being said don't do something absolutly insane either...

I don't have issues with when I can work out....single, self employed, work out at home.....no problems. I guess I think that an AXBX frequency has too much rest....three days seems like alot. Crap....I'm making this too difficult I think....lol.

Maybe, maybe not. I mean being passionate about this is pretty badass, so overthinking and obsessing isn't all bad.

It was something TimD said one day, and it just hit me like a ton of bricks. All this stuff has been done before, all the routines, all the splits, all the fancy new names for things big dudes had done decades ago. And then I realized this all comes down to eat, lift, sleep.

Obviously there are more details, but the right place to start, is simple, eat a lot, lift a lot, and sleep a lot.

nygmen wrote:Obviously there are more details, but the right place to start, is simple, eat a lot, lift a lot, and sleep a lot.

Yeah. That's the basics right there. The more you learn though the more you can complicate it. A good part of why I pay for a strength coach is to have someone else do my programming - that stops me from overthinking things! I go and lift, then I can concentrate on overthinking my eating and sleeping. ;)

pdellorto wrote:I go and lift, then I can concentrate on overthinking my eating and sleeping. ;)

Hilarious...

Mainly because I feel like diet is the most complicated/hardest part. I love food, and eating is joyous for me. But figuring how your body responds to different foods & ratios, is a pain in the butt (espcially when you up your dairy and your body lets you know it was a bad move.)

Much harder than say: "humm I been doing these heavy Deadlifts, and my wife is commenting my on the deep grove in the middle of my back where you used to be able to see my spine. I think I'll do more deadlifts."

This is what I'll start next week when I get back from a short vacation. I ditched the cable rows since I'll start DL's, and I moved a couple things around. We'll see. I'll do the AXBX frequency....we'll see how I like it. Whew....feel better now that I have made a decision....lol.

Ready to start my new routine....today is push. In a couple days it will be pull day....and I have a couple questions about DL's.

I have a pretty sensitive lower back due to some disc trouble (L4 I believe)...should I stay away from SLDL's? Would the Romanian DL's be better suited for me? I know I have to start light....still a tad worried about hurting myself. And while I am getting my DL's started, would it still be ok to do a couple sets of leg curls for the hammies? I would imagine it would take several weeks to acclimate to the DL's.....and the lighter weight probably won't hit the hamstrings too much...

I would say the leg curls won't interfere with anything. When your going lite with the DL. Just make sure you give your hammies proper recovery time, and ease into higher volume. (Don't be a pansy about it either. )

As far as fear of injury:

Start slow & lite, and become confident in your form. This is a marathon not a race. I believe it is referred to as greasing the grove.

There is a difference between pain and discomfort, if you have spine issues, I would avoid both. If otherwise healthy, discomfort is normal & expected. Pain should be avoided.

There is also a difference between fear and nervous. I'm nervous before my heaviest sets, because, well I know it's gonna be tough. If I fear it, I normally won't do it.

Once you feel good (mature adult good, not invincible teenager good) give it a go and push yourself.

I've found learning what I'm capable if, when I should back of, when I should push on very difficult. Mainly because I don't ever want to back off, even when I should.

Shoot, I lifted today with a bum leg... Maybe you shouldn't listen to me...

nygmen wrote:
Shoot, I lifted today with a bum leg... Maybe you shouldn't listen to me...

lol...I was thinking the same thing while reading your reply.

I do thank you for your response though. I haven't really had an issue with my lower back in many years due to me being careful at work. I know the signs, and when I feel the "twinge", I back off. I guess I will keep doing the leg curls until I feel my hammies are getting hit well. I am looking forward to starting DL's....